The Students’ Union leadership has today shed more light on the ‘autonomous spending’ that was approved for the Union Central Executive Council (CEC) by the Congress of Obafemi Awolowo University on Thursday, 27th August, 2015.

Clarifying the purpose and reason why the autonomous spending is necessary, the President of the Union, Akande Omotayo a.k.a TY said the Union has been financed by money from personal purses of the Union officers since their budgets have not been passed. The president said that the autonomy does not mean they can spend money the way they like. He said the autonomy will be on spending on things that are exigent and cannot wait till the budget passage.

TY However asserted that the approved autonomous spending will cease immediately the budgets for the various offices of the Central Executive Council (CEC) have been approved by the parliament. The President further revealed that the bureaucracy attached to approval of Union’s money before budget passage necessitated the autonomous spending’ approval.

“The Budget and Finance committee members want us to call them before we spend any money which I feel is not right. The inability of the budget to have been passed cannot be blamed on either the CEC or the parliament. The NASU break added to the whole delay.” the president said.

In reaction to the autonomous spending approved by the congress, the Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, Abayomi Samuel a.k.a Hon. Jas has taken to the social media to say that there is nothing like autonomous spending in the Students’ Union Constitution.

“There is nothing like autonomous spending in our constitution and the Congress cannot deliberate on matters of appropriation of funds, because a congress cannot ratify a budget and as at today, we don’t have a ratified budget which is beyond the control of the Budget and Finance Committee”